A Look Into The Future
by starrieroze
Summary: TMI characters in say...late 20s? Maybe a little older. No smut or demon killing in this one-just fluff. All ships, but I specialize in Sizzy;)
1. Chapter 1

"You're teaching our three year old to hold a seraph blade?" Clary asked with raised eyebrows. She heard the clatter of steel only moments ago and sprinted into the weapons room to find Jace hovering over their son as little Jax tried again-and failed-to hold the heavy blade for longer than a few seconds. Jace looked up at her and flashed a loving grin. He was in the early stages of thick blonde stubble. She should remind him to shave, but…it wasn't a bad look.

"Yeah, I thought he should get an early start, if he's gonna be the best." Clary rolled her eyes and picked up the seraph blade and put it back where it belonged-out of Jax's reach. She pulled Jax into her arms and kissed him on his little carrot-topped head, darker than hers, a color that reminded her of her mother. He laughed as she snuggled him, his green eyes lighting up like beacons. Those eyes made her so happy. They were just like hers. Absolutely identical.

Jax didn't look much like his father, but that didn't bother him. He spoiled that child rotten, loved it so much he couldn't bare the thought of ever being away from him for more than a day. Jax was only five, far too young for mastering the art of killing-well, anything-but especially demons. But it gave Jace so much happiness to teach their son what he knew. And Clary wasn't worried about Jace endangering him. She trusted him with Jax more than anyone in the world. She had never seen fatherly love like that before. And so much pride, as well. So much pride that she knew he wouldn't really care if Jax decided to throw-out shadowhunting and instead go into a mundane profession, like art (which he had already mastered, thanks to Clary), because Jace would still think he was the best at no matter what he did, as long as doing it made him happy. If Clary thought about for too long, how much Jace loved and cared for her son, and how much she did, too, she almost always cried a little.

So she put her mind onto other things: mainly, the new little Lightwood that would soon join the family. Isabelle had rushed over to their home about three weeks ago in hysterics-sobbing and panting and right on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Clary had ushered her in and retrieved a cup of coffee, which Izzy promptly tossed away and demanded a beer. Clary had agreed reluctantly and after watching her friend finish the bottle in about four bug swigs, Isabelle finally broke the news-that she'd taken about eleven pregnancy tests and they all said the same thing: that there was a thing inside her stomach.

Clary had let out one thrilled scream before lecturing Izzy on drinking while pregnant, which made her burst into tears. She made a promise not to tell anyone-not big-mouthed Jace, not overactive Alec and Magnus, and especially not Simon. Clary agreed but made her promise she wouldn't have to keep it a secret for long.

"Just give me a week." She'd said tiredly, black eyeliner smeared down her cheeks as she left. That had been the deal. One week and it was out.

Izzy still hadn't told anyone. Clary was getting more and more irritated every day, while Izzy was getting more and more anxious. No one had suspected anything yet, Jace hadn't questioned her sudden increase in Isabelle visits, but it was only a matter of time. Why wat until she was showing?

Clary wondered if it would be a boy or a girl, which one Simon and Isabelle would prefer, and what they might name it. The name 'Jax' was short for 'Jaxon'-'Jaxon Lewis Lightwood Herondale',' Lewis' and 'Lightwood' for their _parabati_ and 'Lightwood' also for Izzy and the rest of the family, and 'Jaxon' because they liked the sound and its similarity to 'Jace'. Some selfish part of Clary thought she and Jace should have some symbolic part in the name of the child, but she wasn't sure how it might work. Still, surely they could think of something creative…

No, she thought, they are under no obligation to name their child after us. She was just so excited for another kid with a new personality to join the family. Max was already too old to play with the little kids, but he loved them like they were his little siblings. He would be ecstatic when he heard the news.

Thoughts of Izzy disappeared when the most beautiful music in the world overwhelmed Clary's senses-and then the most terrible. Clary grinned. The piano lessons were not be missed under any circumstances. Clary silently crept into the living room to find Jace and Jax seated before the grand piano. Jace's long, gentle fingers caressed the piano keys with almost as much love and care as when he touched their son. Jax poked the piano keys in a choppy fashion, and when he got exited he balled his tiny hands into fists and struck as many keys at once as possible to create an earsplitting sound. But as Clary winced, Jace only brought one small knuckle up to his lips and kissed it, and again told him not to be so violent with the piano. But Clary could detect a small amount of pride in his eyes, as she always saw when Jax did anything forcefully that showed any small amount of strength. "He can be whatever he wants, sure Clary, but I'm telling you-he's got shadowhunter blood in him and it is very clear that should he choose this life, he will be incredible." Jace had once said when Jax snapped his first paintbrush in half. Clary had gently scolded him but Jace encouraged to break as many things as he wanted. Clary lost a lot of paintbrushes.

Clary looked into the future and tried to picture her son, tall and muscular, slicing heads and piercing hearts. And she thought of him painting on big canvases that took up entire rooms beside a wife and kids. No, Clary again decided, it didn't matter. And right now, the future of their three year old was a silly thing to think about. All that mattered now was this. This moment before her, the one she'd seen a thousand times, the one that made her heart soften as she watched the two loves of her life playing that old piano. She needed to capture it, for she knew there would be a time when Jax didn't want to play, or Jax was away killing demons, or Jax was somewhere else with his family, or maybe, just maybe, Jax was playing so well there was no need for his father to guide his hands. She felt her eyes mist at those thoughts. She needed to be able to see this forever, and not just in a memory. It had to be saved, and kept. So for the first time in a couple of long, busy months, Clary silently began to paint.


	2. Chapter 2

Isabelle looked in the mirror and cried. Watching the black makeup trail down her cheek was somehow calming. Although, she wasn't sure why it was running. It was called "waterproof " for a reason. Stupid cheap, discount mascara that she never should have bought in the first place-

Izzy closed her eyes before she let herself cry about something stupid. There were more important things happening at the moment. For instance, the thing growing inside her stomach.

Izzy touched her stomach, and for a moment, an odd sort of tenderness crept into her as she thought about what exactly that thing was-a baby. _Her baby_. But when she thought she heard Simon open and shut the door, any other emotions were replaced by terror.

Which was silly, really. It was Simon. He'd probably be overjoyed. _She_ was the problem. She'd said it over a thousand times, every time Clary bragged about her little munchkin, every time Simon hinted about how much fun it would be to teach his own kids how to play Dungeons and Dragons, and every time Magnus flat-out asked her about having kids: "Simon and I are happy just the two of us."

That was her polite answer. Her impolite answer, which she usually only ever shared with Clary, was, "how the hell am I supposed to kill demons with a person in my gut, and why would I want a kid to always interrupt me and Simon, and how am I supposed to feed it, and what if I don't like it and we don't get along, and what Simon and I don't work out and then we have this-"

"Okay stop right there," Clary had interjected. "I can answer all of those questions easily. How do you kill demons while pregnant? You don't. Interrupting you and Simon-the child comes first and I'm sure you'll be able to find time with Simon, after all, you deal with the same thing with your job- shadowhunting. How are you supposed to feed it? It's a baby, Izzy. It's not a pet dragon. You will like it, you will adore it, and it will adore you because that is the nature of mothers and their children. And lastly, you and Simon not working out is not even a possibility. He loves you more than anything else in the world and you him."

It had been reassuring at the time, but not anymore. She had so many other fears, fears she knew would not be so easy to simply swat away. She used to think she could just get an abortion early on, but now it felt different. She felt like she couldn't get rid of it, because she already felt like it was a person.

Panic rose into her chest as a flood of new questions flooded her throbbing head. What if it was deformed, what if there was a problem when it came out, what if it didn't make it-what if she didn't make it-and what if she was a terrible mother…

All Izzy had ever known was killing demons and rocking high heels. Her life was formed around makeup and glittery gowns and a whip that could slice creatures in two. How would a baby fit into that life? How would that person ever be able to push all that she loved aside for a child?

 _She would be able to because that child would become all that she loved_ , Clary would have said to her. But Isabelle wasn't sure she wanted her world to suddenly revolve around a baby. In fact she was quite certain she did not want that.

Nine months. Nine months or longer. What would she do for nine months? Nine months of steadily getting fatter and fatter…Izzy was not ashamed to admit that her physical appearance was a major factor in not wanting to get pregnant. She remembered when Clary got pregnant. To see that huge stomach on that tiny body…and by the angel, maternity clothes…it just got worse and worse.

Izzy pulled down her shirt as Simon walked into the room. His face lit up and his eyes ran her up and down when he saw her, as always. She grinned shakily. If he caught her uneasiness, he said nothing about it.

"So I bought some stuff for Jace and Clary, I don't know if we're supposed to get them individual gifts or family gifts or what-and thought Alex might like this, but Magnus probably won't ever let him wear that shade of brown…" Simon went on, showing her what he bought and laughing about some cute thing Jax said to his 'Uncle Simon', but Izzy heard very little of it. She kept imagining that she was showing, even though she knew it was way too early to be showing.

She felt her hand move on its own accord down to her stomach. She yanked it back when she noticed Simon blinking at her.

"Izzy?" Simon asked. "Izzy, come back to me." He smiled at her. It didn't take as much effort as she thought it would to smile back at him. But he saw through it.

"What is it, Isabelle?" He brought a hand to her face and let it rest there. She swallowed. This was it. _Now. Tell him now!_

"I just…" She searched for words. _What do you even say? How do you say it? 'I'm pregnant'? Just drop the bomb?_

"I'm…" She could tell Simon was getting increasingly worried. She briefly wondered if leading him on to believe she had cancer and then revealing what she really had was a baby so it would be a relief instead of a shock was a good idea. Or maybe breaking up with him…

She looked at his face, at his big brown eyes, wide as saucers now, and thought better of it.

She stroked his thumb across her lip and she caught it with her teeth and bit it gently, so he wouldn't be as worried about her. He smiled again, but the concern stayed in his eyes.

She loved him so much, she thought. As always, this brought a bit of shock and thrilling fear as it always did when she said or thought about how she loved him. It was his turn for a shock and thrilling fear.

"I'm slightly pregnant."

He stared. His hand froze.

She laughed awkwardly. "Actually, that's not true," he leaned forward slightly, "I'm completely pregnant."

Isabelle's heart was down hardcore jumping jacks and she was fairly certain that in their close proximity he could probably hear it.

She waited for a response.

Finally his mouth twitched. "Really?" He croaked out. She nodded.

He let out a little gasp before kissing her hard on the lips. She let go of all the Simon-related worries in that kiss, melting into it and smiling slightly, breaking the kiss to look at him. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the head as she asked, "What do you think?"

He took a moment to decide. "I think that I couldn't be happier, but that I'm afraid you aren't." He said softly. His eyes were brimmed with tears. Such a soft hearted husband she had chosen. She kissed him again.

"I am terrified. But not unhappy." She said, crying again. He kissed her under the eyes where the tears fell until her eyes dried.

"Why are you scared?" He asked gently as he carefully led her onto the couch. She rolled her eyes, but didn't mind his babying.

"I'm scared that I won't be able to do what I normally do, and that it will take over everything and change everything, and that I won't be a good mother. And also, about five billion other things." She said, closing her eyes and lying back. He laid down beside her, squeezing himself into her on the small couch. She wrapped her arms around him tightly to keep him from rolling off the edge.

"For a while, you won't. And that will be hard for you, but I'll be there. And yes, things will change, and it will take over our lives, but it will be wonderful. I promise that you will love it. We both will, and it will love us. And why in the world would you think you wouldn't be a good mother?"

Isabelle couldn't look at his eyes without tearing up, so she looked at his mouth. Memories flew through her mind of all the times she kissed that mouth, and all the times it kissed her, and every place on her that it touched. She smiled.

"Because the person I am…I care about killing and makeup and high heels, and…glamorous things that…I…don't know how to live differently, or to want different things. All I do-have ever done-is fought demons and played dress up. What kind of mother would I be?" Izzy had to bite her own lip until it bled to keep herself from crying again.

Simon still only smiled at her. "Is that really all that you think defines you? You've forgotten so many other things that make you a person. Including the most important thing: you love me." He said with a grin. "You learned to love e when you thought you would never love like that."

Izzy sighed. "You're right. That is the most important thing," she matched his grin as she kissed him, and his nose, "you taught me how to _fall in_ love, and this," she brought Simon's hand to her stomach and tried to believe what she was about to say. "This will teach me how to be a mother-you and it-and in the meantime, you will teach me how to not be afraid again, as you did a long time ago."

"I shall." Simon smiled deviously and licked her lip, pulling off his shirt and then helping her out of hers. He shifted her weight on top of him and she laughed gleefully as he forcefully pulled her into him, and she let her last tear fall as her fears began to dissolve.


	3. Chapter 3

Magnus snapped his fingers in an unnecessary display, sprinkling more glitter all over the couch. It was a large purple one, very fashionable, but something was missing. And after sprinkling on the glitter, Magnus decided that something was, in fact, glitter.

"MAGNUS." Alec's voice boomed from the bathroom. _Oh dear_ , Magnus thought, _not his angry voice._

"Yes, Alexander?" Magnus asked innocently. Alec stormed into the room hand-in-hand with Max. His blue face was smudged with one of Magnus's most expensive eyeliner. Despite himself, Magnus chuckled.

"What have you gotten into?" Magnus bent down and licked his thumb, attempting to smear the eyeliner away. Alec fumed above him.

"This is your fault!" He said. Magnus looked as if he'd been struck.

"My fault?" He tried not to look amused as he sometimes did when Alec fussed over Max. Alec was always fussing over Max.

"You taught him how to put it on!" Magnus made himself look struck once again, if only to hide the smile threatening to appear on his lips.

"I certainly didn't teach him to put it on like _that_." Magnus defended himself. "You're the one with no makeup skills. It seems that unfortunately, our child has acquired your sad, sad, inability to properly enhance your face."

Alec gave him a look that said _, I'm serious Magnus_ but the faint quirk of his lips seemed to say _I'm actually not that serious._

"You worry far too much, Alexander. Why must you keep him from his makeup-wearing roots?" Magnus asked cheerfully as he strolled into his bedroom and then to his closet, in search of something flashy- but mild on his standards. Something…pleasant.

Alec spoke as he tried to smear away Max's makeup with his fingers, as Magnus had done. "I must keep him from his makeup-wearing roots because he's a little boy, and little boys and make-up do not work together."

"I can think of one little boy that still works quite well with makeup." Magnus wiggled his eyebrows. Alec rolled his blue eyes, sending Max into a fit of laughter. Neither Magnus, Alec, or Max, it seemed, could figure out why the rolling of Alec's eyes made him so hysterical. Strangely, it seemed kind of funny to Magnus, too, lately.

"Hardly a little boy anymore, Magnus." Alec mumbled with smile. Magnus dropped a kiss on his head.

"I'll always be young, Alexander, if you are."

A familiar, distant look crossed Alec's face.

"Well then you don't have much time." He was joking, of course. Joking about getting older-because if they didn't joke they would cry.

"Then I will grow old with you." Magnus smiled and got dressed silently as Alec left.

Magnus was wearing wool. Itchy, gross, disgusting wool. He hadn't even known that he _owned_ wool. Why would he? It was so…dull. The fabric was so…fuzzy. He felt like a straight forty-year old off to the grocery store-nothing like the free-wheeling bisexual off to see his dearest friend that he was.

He spotted Catarina immediately. Even with the olive skin and dark hair. She usually went a few shades darker, in fact. Why the change, he wondered momentarily, before it didn't matter.

He wrapped her in a hug, kissing her cheek quickly and then stepping back so Max could engulf her in hugs. Max loved Caterina. Magnus almost wondered if he had a small crush on her.

He had brought Max along after Alec left for something that had to do with Izzy. He partly wished Alec could come along with him to see Caterina, but then again, Alec had to be there for the woman he loved most in the world, just as Magnus did. He took Catarina by the wrist and led her down the street to a little bench, holding Max in her arms.

"So what have you been up to these last few months?" Catarina took a moment to think.

"Well I've been healing at the hospital, of course." She began.

"Of course."

"I've been insanely busy. Haven't had time for anything but that damn mundane hospital." She sighed. Magnus was fairly certain she didn't mind the busy schedule, for he doubted she would want to do anything else more than healing.

But he said, "poor, poor, Catarina. No time to herself. No time for love either, I assume…?" Catarina rolled her eyes.

"A silly mundane man took a liking to me at the hospital-one that I nursed. He came in with silly injuries just to see me."

Magnus grinned. "How romantic! Have you any idea how much those hospital bills can cost you?"

Catarina ignored this statement, lost in the story she would soon finish. "He wouldn't stop pestering me. He would bombarded me with these silly compliments, talk nonstop about my beauty, and how he felt like he knew me, and he wanted to know me…you know." She paused to touch noses with Max.

"And?" Magnus pushed.

"And so one day I got so fed up with him that I said, 'You think I'm so beautiful? You think you know me? Well here. Let me show you who I am.'"

Magnus gaped at her. "You didn't!"

She laughed and cringed at the same time. "I did."

"Catarina! That's a big deal!" But she only shrugged.

"What can they do to me?" It was a said as a statement, not a question.

Magnus could hardly believe how not-Catarina like she was acting. He rather liked it.

"And this fine gentleman, how did he react?" Magnus braced himself.

"He didn't." Her voice held no emotion, but her eyebrows were deeply furrowed. Magnus blinked. He waited. "Well, finish! What do you mean? What did he do?"

"Nothing. He just stared, for a long time, until I glamour myself back. And then I told him to go and he left."

"Is that the end?"

"I wish," she groaned, "but no. He was back the next day for me."

Magnus chuckled, "He's very determined, I'll give him that."

Catarina smiled. "Yes, he is."

After a long time, Catarina said, "And you and Alec? Still happy as ever?"

"We most certainly are, that is until Max shows any sign of being like me!" Magnus complained.

"Like what kind of signs…and…what kind of you?" She asked with a teasing smile.

"The me that likes enhance my face." Magnus responded.

Catarina scoffed. "Oh, Magnus. He's five. He shouldn't be enhancing his face."

"Traitor." Magnus grumbled, throwing an arm around Catarina and tickling Max's face. He giggled.

"But you are happy." She confirmed. He nodded.

"You will be with this one till the end." Magnus looked away. It had been a long time since he had gone through a lifetime with someone. He was ready to do it again.

"You should try it again." Magnus said softly in Catarina's ear. "You already have someone waiting for you."

She looked away this time. He wondered what she was thinking.

"Maybe," Was all she said. "Do you ever wonder if you'll find an immortal to spend the eternity with?"

"Turn blue," Commanded a little voice beside Catarina. She laughed and glanced back and forth for people. When the coast was clear, she melted into a blue-skinned, white-haired woman, causing Max to practically shriek with delight. She touched heads with his equally blue son and the laughed and giggled until Magnus was chuckling with them.

And he asked himself the question she had just asked him moments before.

He answered, "I've already found two."


End file.
